- Author: Laura J. Van der Staay
In March, Kings County has a Farm Day where students and teachers explore healthy food choices, learn how food is grown, interact with farm animals, and build an increased awareness of how agriculture helps our local community and economy. This is achieved by the Kings County Farm Bureau, The Kings County Office of Education and the Kings Fairgrounds partnering to bring the students and presenters together at the Fairgrounds. On March 16, 2017, over 2400 third-graders and 100 teachers and chaperones from 32 schools, as well as presenters for 60 stations attended Farm Day. With the generous donations from The Plant Food People, Greenheart Farms, and awesome volunteers, KARE provided all attendees with short presentations on what it takes to be a healthy plant and what it takes to be a healthy person, followed immediately by workshops where attendees planted leaf lettuce transplants to take home and enjoy.
Fresno County had Farm and Nutrition Day on March 17, 2017, allowing over 4000 third-grade students, teachers, and chaperones from 38 schools experience over 55 interactive presentations at the Big Fresno Fair grounds. Experiential workshops, presentations and displays helped increase participant awareness of agriculture as well as the benefits of making healthy choices. Fresno County Farm Bureau organized the event with the help of several sponsors, volunteers and presenter groups. Again with the generous donations from The Plant Food People, Greenheart Farms, and awesome volunteers, KARE provided all attendees with short presentations on what it takes to be a healthy plant and what it takes to be a healthy person, followed immediately by workshops where attendees planted leaf lettuce transplants to take home and enjoy.
At both events, other UC ANR programs, like 4-H, master gardeners, food and nutrition, small farms advisors, etc., from Kings and Fresno counties also had animals and presentations for the attendees.
Click here to see a Fresno Bee article.
- Author: Laura J. Van der Staay
This is agriculture literacy week. Please enjoy this video by California Secretary of Agriculture, Karen Ross.
- Author: Sean Hogan
The UC ANR Informatics and GIS (IGIS) program is offering two new agriculturally focused GIS and mobile data collection workshops at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, on March 19th and 20th. If you have any interest in contemporary applications of GIS or mobile data collection for agricultural use, these workshops may be for you. The workshops run from 11 to 4 pm and include lunch. They are open to ANR affiliates for $30 and non-ANR public for $60.
The first workshop, on March 19th, will include a one hour lecture on practical applications of GIS for crop agricultural, followed by a three hour exercise that will explore practical techniques for analyzing and mapping local agricultural concerns with readily available software and online data. The second workshop, on March 20th, will also start with a one hour lecture and will be followed by a three hour practical exercise, which together will explore the development of customized mobile SmartPhones GPS apps, applications of GPS and mobile data collection for agriculture, and practical ways of viewing and sharing your data. For more information regarding the workshops please go to: http://igis.ucanr.edu/IGISTraining/GISforCropAgKARE/ and http://igis.ucanr.edu/IGISTraining/GPSworkshopKARE/
Note - Both of these workshops are designed for participants with little to no GIS or GPS experience. However, more advanced GIS and GPS users are equally welcome, and may likewise find these workshops to be quite beneficial due to their practicality.
- Author: JoAnne Yonemura
- Contributor: Laura J. Van der Staay
On your tour of World Ag Expo 2015, make sure to come by the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) exhibits at Pavilion A and B (northwest corner of the Expo), clustered at booths 1411, 1412, 1512 and 1513.
Booth 1411 - UC Cooperative Extension, Tulare County office
Serving local Californians since 1913, UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) maintains offices throughout the state through a partnership between local county governments, UC ANR, and the US Department of Agriculture. UC Cooperative Extension advisors help identify and solve local problems through research and educational programs that focus on the evolving needs of growers, youth, families, agencies, policy makers and the general public.
Staff will provide specialized programming for an Agriculture Day (Tuesday, Feb. 10), a 4-H/Nutrition Day (Wednesday, Feb. 11), and a UC Master Gardener Day (Thursday, Feb. 12).
The Research and Extension Center System (RECS), which extends from the Oregon border in the north, through the Sierra Foothills and Central Valley, and along the Pacific Coast and south to the border of Mexico, includes sites in a wide variety of California ecosystems, allowing researchers and extension educators to effectively address regional challenges and issues. It is the only UC statewide program that can provide researchers with a premier research management organization including land, labor, facilities and equipment, in a wide variety of real-world, outdoor growing environments, where they can pursue new knowledge for the benefit of agricultural and resource science, industry, and the general public.
Centers are also focal points for community participation and active involvement in finding ways to address current and relevant regional agricultural and natural resource challenges. The RECS centers support projects involving county-based cooperative extension advisors and campus-based research specialists, as well as researchers from Land-Grant institutions in other states, the California State University (CSU) system and USDA as they conduct their research and education programs.
Booth 1412 - UC ANR Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center (KARE)
Officially dedicated in 1965, KARE has achieved international acclaim for leadership in the development of new fruit, nut and grape varieties, innovative cultural and irrigation practices, pest and disease management techniques, and new understandings of postharvest biology. KARE plays a leadership role in maintaining the quality of California's rural environment, with programs in air, soil and water quality and mosquito management.
Booth 1512 - UC ANR Lindcove REC (LREC)
Established in 1959 by San Joaquin Valley citrus growers, Lindcove REC covers more than 100 acres growing more than 400 citrus varieties. At LREC, scientists conduct research to evaluate new varieties of citrus and improved citrus-growing techniques and new ways to manage pests. Extension educational programs carry the practical results of this research to citrus industry clientele and the general public.
Booth 1513 - University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Come learn more about the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, our history, and our research and programs across the state. You can also download our Cultivating California brochure.
UC ANR is a statewide network of University of California researchers and educators dedicated to providing individuals, communities, and industries with science-based information and solutions to address the important issues California is currently facing.
- 4 Agricultural Experiment Station – UC campus-based research
- Research and Extension Centers (REC)
- 50+ UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) County Offices
- 6 statewide programs focused on high-priority concerns
- Agricultural Issues Center (AIC)
- California Naturalist Program
- IGIS - Informatics and Geographic Information Systems
- Integrated Pest Management
- Master Gardener Program
- Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education Program (SAREP)
- Youth, Families and Communities Program
UC ANR is an engine for problem solving, working with industry to develop and improve agricultural markets, help keep a good balance in international trade, address environmental concerns, protect plant health, and provide farmers with scientifically tested production techniques and the tools necessary to maintain a safe food supply for consumers.
Other UC ANR booths:
- Outdoor booth M54 - UC Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation (CASI) –
CASI has over 2,100 university, farmer, National Resources Conservation Service, and private-sector partners working to develop and evaluate a wide range of cropping system alternatives for California's diverse cropping sectors. The practical coupling of agricultural production and strategies for water conservation via efficient tillage and irrigation are important aspects of CASI's current work.
- Booth 6014 - UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center
- Booths 8013 & 8014 - UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
- Author: Laura J. Van der Staay
Roberta Barton has joined the University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources as a community educator. Barton will develop and lead unique outreach and educational programs that highlight key agricultural topics and research projects underway at the Kearney Agricultural, Lindcove and West Side Research and Extension Centers in Fresno and Tulare counties. The UC REC system enables the delivery of the highest quality science to promote healthy citizens and thriving communities. Barton holds a degree in Journalism from California State University, Fresno and has decades of community relations experience in the non-profit and public sectors, including previous positions with the Fresno County Public Library, Westlands Water District and Valley PBS.
